The present invention relates to a front grille for a vehicle that introduces relative wind into the engine compartment.
Generally, a front grille is arranged in the front portion of an engine compartment of a vehicle. The front grille cools the radiator by introducing the outside air, such as relative wind, into the engine compartment. As shown in FIG. 20, a grille body 101, which configures a main portion of the front grille 100, includes a plurality of fins 102 each having a decorative surface formed on the front surface. In some cases, to decorate the grille body 101, decorative moldings 107 each having a decorative surface formed on the front surface may be attached to the grille body 101 (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 4843629). In these cases, the grille body 101 has attachment portions 103 to which the moldings 107 are attached. For example, each of the attachment portions 103 has an upper wall portion 104 and a lower wall portion 105, which are spaced apart in the vertical direction and extend rearward from the corresponding one of the fins 102 of the grille body 101. A claw portion 106 projects downward from the rear end of the upper wall portion 104.
An engaging projection 108 projects from the upper portion of each of the moldings 107. The engaging projection 108 has a hole 109 extending therethrough in the vertical direction. To attach the molding 107 to the grille body 101, the engaging projections 108 of the molding 107 are inserted into the clearances between the upper wall portions 104 and the lower wall portions 105 of the grille body 101. The claw portions 106 of the grille body 101 are then engaged with the holes 109 of the molding 107.
The front grille 100 is designed to be finished after the moldings 107 are attached to the attachment portions 103 of the grille body 101. In other words, the front grille 100 is not designed for use in the form without the moldings 107 attached to the attachment portions 103. Accordingly, if the grille body 101 is used in the form without the moldings 107, the claw portions 106 projecting downward from the upper wall portions 104 of the attachment portions 103 are visible from in front of the vehicle and thus harm the aesthetics of the front grille 100. That is, if the front grille 100 is used in the form without the moldings 107 attached to the grille body 101, the front grille 100 becomes an unfinished product in terms of decoration.
As a result, if the grade management of front grilles is carried out depending on whether the front grilles have decoration, a front grille that serves as a finished product in the form without a molding must be manufactured independently from a front grille that serves as a finished product in the form with a molding attached to the front grille.